Cooling system of internal combustion engines



May 24, 1932. G. LYON ET AL 1,860,258

COOLING SYSTEM OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION'ENGINES I Filed Oct. 3, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Geratulyo 70, L (ZarZ-y 1?..Fairc and Jleovzaa MBa-z-(Ow,

QMxPQL May 24, 1932. G. LYON ET AL COOLING SYSTEM OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION'ENGINES Filed Oct. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet iiii1iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Patented Mi, 24, 1932 NITED STATES PATENT oFF ca amazon, or nanmuerou; HOUNSLOW, crmiamis RICHARD FAIBEY, or IVEB,, ann'rnomis Marceau HARLOW, or WBAYDENE, BURNHAM,ENGLAND; SAID LYON Diem-marrow assmnons TO sun mmmr COOLING srsrmr or rurnmar. comnusrron' enemas I Appllcationqaled ()etober 3, 1929, Serial Np. 897,088, aniinareat Britain hove'mber 29, 1928.

This invention relates to the cooling systoms of internal combustion engines in' which the steamlformed is condensed in a surface condenser, and the condensate returned to the cylinder jacket. In such systems. it has been "Proposed that the water (or other liquid) in the jacket Should be maintained at or near its boiling point. For the sake ofconvenience, the cooling medium will be referred to 8,8 water- According to the present invention the outlet or outlets from the water jacket or jackets in the cooling system of an internal combustion engine 18 or are restricted so that the pressure in said jacket or jackets may be maintained high enough to prevent boiling therein, the pressure in the system beyond said restricted outlet or outlets being lower until the water (including the condensate) is to be returned to the jacket or jackets.

Preferably the pressure in the system is still further reduced just in advance of the junction therewith of the passage for the return to the system of the condensate.

Preferably also the pressure in the system is raised again between said junction and a pump of any convenient type by which the water is returned to the Water jacket or j ack ets, the connection between said junction and pump being smooth internally so as to avoid any eddy currents.

The invention is to be applied, primarily, to the cooling system of the internal combustion engine of an aircraft and, for the sake of convenience, will be described with reference thereto in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side View and Fig'ure'2 is a diagrammatic front view of one form of the inven- 40 tion.

As shown water is umped into the water jacket a of an engine the outlet passages c from said jacket a being restricted as at d so that the pressure created in said jacket can be maintained high enough to prevent boiling of the Water therein and keep said jacket filled with water under all conditions. Beyond said constricted outlets d the passages c'of the system are enlarged so that thepressure is reduced and. steam is formed. The

mixture of steam and water is led tangentially into a centrifugal separator e, whence the separated'water' is led off by one pipe 7 and the vapour by another 9. The vapour is conducted 1nto a domed chamber h, whence it escapes, moreior less freed from liquid spray, by a pipe j opening from'tlie top'of the dome and leading to a surface radiator is, (which may form any part of the surface of the aircraft which is exposed to free air) whilst free water'whicli may have been carried along with the vapour settles at the bottom of the denied chamber h and is conducted away by a drain pipe m branching into the outlet pipe'n which. conveys away. the com densate from the radiator 10. The radiator is might also betermed a condenser. It functions at one and the same time both as a radiator and ass; condenser during the normal operation of the'engine. It serves to condense steam separated from the cooling water, and it is then functioning as a condenser. It also serves, at the same time, to radiate heat abstracted from the engine, and it" then so created by expansion the drain pipe m y is of such size that the quantity of water whichcan flow. therethrough is equal approximately to'the quantity of free water which will be carried alongwith the vapour coming from the centrifugal separator e. When the engine is stopped and the" water in .the system contracts on'cooling the chamher it empties and restores-the-level of water in the main portion of the circuit. The outlet pipe 1 which conveys away the condensate fromg theradiator k is joined with the water pipe 7' from the centrifugal separator e and ino'rder to allow ariadequate head for the 7 entry of the condensate into the-water pipe 7, theilatter isltapered to a'smaller section or tions directly adjacent said water jacket, 0.

throat as at 0 so as artificially to reduce the pressure therein and it is enlar ed again beyond said throat so as, artificia ly to increase the pressure therein at the inlet p to the pump g,-in*order to avoid boiling at said inlet, care being taken that'the interior of said enlarged portionis smooth internally.

At the outletend of the radiator is provided adouble relief valve 1', of known kind, adapted to open at predetermined maximum and minimum pressures, to maintain the pressure at that part of ,the;, ,s ystem, within a desired range relatively to tlie atmosphere, I

invention presents that resistance to the flow of water under the action ofthe pump g which is necessary to create and maintain a pressure such that the water will not boil in; saidjacket whilst the condensation of steam which, in effect, is the cooling efiected by the system, may be carried out in, parts which do not have to withstand a high pressure and consequently can be made-lighter than would be possible if the pressure thrbughout the system were practically constant.

\Ve claim 1. In a cooling system foran internal combustion engine, a water jacket, a centrifugal separator positioned aboveJsaid water j acketi pipes leading from said watei jacket to sai separator, said pipes having restricted portions directly adjacent saidv water jacket, a

domed chamber above said water Jacket, a vapor pipe connecting said separator and said domed chamber, a condenser connected to said domed chamber, a water pump for said water jacket, and water pipes leading from said separator and from said condenser to said pump, said pipes meeting before reaching said pump and having a restricted throat near said pump.

2. In a cooling system for an internal combustion engine, a water jacket, a centrifugal separator positioned above said water jacket, pipes leading from said water jacket to said separator, said pipes havingrest-ricted pordomed chamber above said water jacket, a vapor pipe connecting said separator and said domed chamber, a eondenserconnected to said domed chamber, a-water pump for,

said-water jacket, and water pipes leading from said separator and from said condenser to said pump, said pipes meeting before reaching said pump and having a restricted throat near said pump, the inlet to said pump having a smooth surfaced interior to prevent eddy currents.

3. The method of operating a liquid cool" ing circuit of an internal combustion engine comprising a heat absorbing section and a heat dissipating section, which consists of maintaining pressure within the heat absorbing section to prevent boiling of the liquid thereimseparating the vapor from the liquid as the vapor is passed to the heat dissipating section, returning the vapor in condensed form tosaid heat absorbing section by means of a pump, and increasing the pressure of said condensed vapor directly before it reaches the ump.

GERALD LY N. Y Y CHARLES RICHARD FAIREY. THOMAS MORGAN HARLOW. 

